Match-box holder.



J. A. GHEAPE.

MATCH BOX HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNES, 1909.

Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

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JOHN ALBERT CHEAPE, 0F CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA.

MATCH-BOX HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. June 9, 1909.

Patented Oct. 1'7, 1911.

Serial No. 501,172.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN ALBERT CHEAPE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Charlottesville, in the county of Albemarle and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements. in Match-Box Holders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in holders for match boxes, and the object is to provide against the removal of the entire box until the supply of matches contained therein shall have been exhausted, when it is necessary to mutilate or entirely destroy the box in order to remove it from the holder. I

Another object is to provide a simple, inexpensive and ornamental article of manufacture which may be made of a single piece of thin sheet metal and struck up into shape to form a supporting back and plunger for effectually holding both the inner box containing the matches, and the outer cover.

With these objects in view, this invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 is a view in perspective showing a match box held in position in the match safe. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the match safe before the box has been applied, Fig. 3 is a view of the blank, Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation, and Fig. 5 is a top plan view.

The blank outlined in Fig. 3, is cut from a single piece of sheet metal and arranged to form the various slots, orifices, tongues, etc, illustrated therein, after which the blank is fashioned into the completed form of holder by bending it along the dotted lines to form a back 1, which has a screwhole 2 whereby to receive a screw or nail 3 for attaching the holder to the wall. The remaining portion of the blank from the dotted line 4 to the right hand end is bent in shape to form a plunger 5, the portion 6 of the blank constituting the bottom, the part 7 the front, part 8 the top, and part 9 the inner side of the plunger. When thus bent into shape, the several holes 10, 10, 11, 11, and 12, 12, come into alinement to re ceive the nails or screws 13, 13, whereby the lower end of the holder is held in place, and the rigidity of the plunger is maintained. The extreme ends 14:, 1 1, of the blank extend into slots 15, 15, thus holding the inner plate 9 at its lower end the required distance from the back plate 1.

Spring teeth 16, 16, are cut from the blank as indicated in Fig. 3, and thence bent in-' wardly through the slots 17, 17, illustrated in Fig. 3 as square, and opposite the slots 18, 18, illustrated as oblong in the back plate, which latter afford clearance for the ends of the spring teeth 16, 16, all of which is illustrated more clearly in Figs. 4: and 5.

. A tongue 20 is cut from the inner plate 9 and this is bent upwardly parallel with the back plate 1, and from this tongue a tooth or barb 21 is cut and bent upwardly at right angles, as indicated in Figs. 2, 1, and 5.

In applying the match box, the sections of the box are first slid apart, and to a position the reverse of that shown in Fig. 1, whereupon the inner section is forced down upon the tooth or barb 21, thus securing it in position, whereupon the outer section is slid down around the plunger, the inner section of the box taking the position illustrated in Fig. 1, and the spring teeth 16 penetrating the outer section of the box, both sections in this way being secured to the holder against removal therefrom, the holder being practically concealed by the match box, but the matches being displayed in convenient position to be removed one by one, or a few at a time. The box, how ever, is so held that it cannot be removed, except by mutilation or complete destruction after the matches contained therein shall have been removed.

It will be noticed that the teeth 16, 16, and 21, extend the way of the grain of the two sections of the box, as most safety match boxes are now made of wood so that when it is desired to remove the box, the inner section may be moved upwardly, and the outer section transversely or laterally, but not without permanently mutilating or entirely destroying the box.

A notable feature of the device is that all the parts are made from a single piece of thin sheet metal, and they may be stamped and struck up in a single operation of a die press adapted for that purpose, thus reduc ing the initial cost to a minimum, and at the same time providing a simple, attractive, and efficient article for the purpose intended.

It is evident that more or less slight changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts de scribed without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not wish to limit myself to the exact construction herein set forth, but

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. As an article of manufacture, a match box holder comprising a back plate and plunger made of a single piece of sheet metal, said plunger provided with independent means for securing both sections of an ordinary match box.

2. As an article of manufacture, a matchbox holder comprising a back and plunger, the plunger having a tongue struck therefrom, and having a barb struck from the tongue for engaging one portion of the box, and a portion of the plunger having springteeth struck therefrom, and disposed in a direction toward the back, and across the space between the back and plunger for securing the other portion of the box to the plunger.

3. As an article of manufacture, a match box holder comprising a back plate and plunger made of a single piece of sheet metal, a tongue out and bent from a portion of the plunger and provided with a tooth or barb for piercing one section of the match box, the plunger also provided with spring teeth out and bent therefrom for permitting the outer section of the match box to slide downwardly and for preventing it from removal in the reverse direction.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ALBERT GHEAPE. lVitnesses C. R. ANDERSON, JNo. S. WVHITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

